IRB
Member Composition
Each committee
is constructed
so as to comply
with Federal regulations
about Institutional
Review Boards. The
following information
is included on
this page; however,
in compliance with federal
regulations, member names
and meeting locations are
not publicly disclosed.
Number
of members:
Each
committee has
at least nine
members. The number
of members of a
committee may be
expanded or contracted
to be suitable
for the workload
of the committee,
provided each committee
has at least nine
members and otherwise
fulfills Federal
requirements.
Term
of service: Committee members
serve one year
terms, renewable
indefinitely.
Description
of members: The Chair
of each committee
is chosen from
among the regular
voting members.
1. Regular voting
members
- Unaffiliated
member
Each
committee has
at least one
member who is
not affiliated
with the UW and
who is not part
of the immediate
family of a person
who is affiliated
with the UW.
- Non-scientist
member
Each
committee
has at least
one member
whose primary
concerns
are in scientific
areas,
and at least
one member
whose primary
concerns
are nonscientific
(i.e.,
someone with
little or
no scientific
or medical
training
or experience).
- Staff
member
Each
committee
has one member
who is
a staff member
from the
University
of Washington’s
Human Subjects Division.
- Other
members
The remaining
regular committee
members are
generally
affiliated
with
the UW
and have
scientific
expertise
and experience.
2. Ad
hoc members
- Prisoner
advocate
When
a committee reviews research
that
involves prisoners, a prisoner advocate
must
be present. The prisoner
advocate is an ad hoc member
with
voting privileges on applications
involving prisoners. The advocate
is
drawn from a
roster of local
individuals with
appropriate background
and expertise to serve in this
capacity.
- Minimal
risk review
Each
committee
may have
one or two
ad hoc
members who
are responsible
for reviewing
applications that meet the criteria
for Minimal
Risk Review
and therefore
do not require
review by
the full
committee.
They will
also administratively
review and
approve human
subject’s
research that
qualifies for
a Certification
of Exemption. Experienced
staff members
of the Human Subjects Division typically
serve as
minimal risk
reviewers, and
are usually
constituted as
a subcommittee
of the committee.
3.
Alternate members
- Alternate
members
may be formally appointed and listed
in
the membership roster, as
substitutes for specific primary
members.
4.
Shared
memberships
- Two individuals
may share a single
membership position
on a committee,
provided that they
have similar expertise
and experience and that each
participates
in a significant number
of committee meetings over time.
If both individuals
attend the same
committee meeting,
only one
shall be considered a regular voting
member while
the other shall
be considered a
non-voting consultant.
5. Student members
- The UW strongly
encourages its
students to become
involved
in research by assisting researchers,
initiating
supervised research projects, or being
participants in
research. Therefore,
it is considered
appropriate and desirable
for
each committee to have a member who
is a UW student.
Students may be
regular members,
alternate
members, or shared members, with all
the rights and
responsibilities
of such members. Student members must be nominated by the Graduate & Professional Student Senate (GPSS). For more information, visit http://www.gpss.washington.edu/committees.
Member
recruitment,
selection, and
criteria:
The Vice
Provost for Research
appoints all members
of IRB committees
and subcommittees.
Committee members
are recruited by
the following methods:
requests to deans
and department
chairs; request
to local public
groups (e.g., Washington
State Bar Association),
local advertising,
and through informal
contacts such as
recommendations
of current Committee
members. Student
members are generally
recruited through
the Graduate and
Professional Student
Senate, or informal
contacts.
Committee members
are selected to
ensure that the
above specific
criteria are met
(e.g., at least
one non-affiliated
member on each
committee).
The
following additional
criteria are used:
- Broad
representation
across disciplines,
and University
schools and departments.
For example,
committee members
may include physicians,
nurses, pharmacists,
social scientists,
epidemiologists,
and mental health
practitioners.
Some priority
is given to selecting
committee members
from disciplines
or departments
that submit a
large number
of applications
for review. No
committee shall
consist entirely
of members of
one profession.
- Committee
focus -
For
committees
with a biomedical
focus, members
are selected
for their expertise
in biomedical
research (except
for non-scientist
members). For
committees
with a social
science/behavioral
focus, members
are selected for their
expertise in
social science
or behavioral
research (except
for non-scientist
members). For
committees
that review
Veterans Administration
(VA) research, most members
have academic,
clinical, or professional staff
appointments
at the local
VA health care
system facility.
- Expertise in
categories
of vulnerable
participants
(e.g., prisoners,
children) is
provided by selecting
regular or ad
hoc members with
knowledge and
experience in
those categories.
- Diversity with
respect to race/ethnicity,
gender, and cultural
background
is ensured by
every nondiscriminatory
effort. No
committee shall
consist entirely
of women or
entirely of men.
- Knowledge and
expertise of
committee members
is assessed
and ensured by
review of a prospective
member's professional
biography (e.g.,
curriculum
vitae; biosketch
prepared for
National Institutes
of Health; resume).
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